Aces Roll Over Falcons

Aces newcomer Matt Ruchty scored two goals and George Wilcox had 4 assists as the Anchorage Aces defeated the South Division leading Fresno Falcons 8-4 Saturday Night before 3, 097 fans at the Selland Arena in Fresno, California. It is the Aces fifth win out of six games on their 10 game road trip, and their 8th win in their last 10 games.

The victory improved the Aces to 13-6-0 and they trail Colorado by one point in the North Division for second place. The loss dropped the South Division leading Falcons to 13-5-1.

Matt Ruchty, who was loaned to the Aces from Grand Rapids of the IHL, scored two goals in just his fifth game with the Aces, scoring his fourth and fifth points with the Aces.

The game started fast and furious with great end-to-end action, which is surprising since it was the Aces fourth game in five nights.

Derek Gauthier lit the lamp first at 3:04 assisted by George Wilcox. Fresno's Blaine Moore evened it up at 9:57. Ruchty scored his first goal of the year assisted by Wilcox just 22 seconds later to regain the lead for the Aces. But Fresno's Glen Gulutzan scored to even it up at 12:51. The Aces left the period with a lead though, because Keith Street scored his 10th of the year shorthanded at 14:41.

The Aces penalty kill was fantastic, stopping all 5 Falcons power plays and scoring a shorthanded goal. Their power play was also good going 2 for 6. Special teams has been great this road trip, with the power play going 11 for 35 and the penalty kill stopping 35 of 40 opposing power plays.

Fresno's Christian Skoryna knotted the game at 3 apiece at just :46 of the second period. But it was all Aces from then on. The Aces scored 4 unanswered goals, from Kevin Epp, Dean Larson, Paul Williams, and Matt Ruchty again to blow the game open at 7-3.

The game slowed down in the third period, only two goals were scored. Fresno's Billy Lincoln attempted a comeback when he scored at 13:14. But Yvan Corbin put the game away at 15:31 from Street and Kord Cernich on the power play.

This was a very impressive win for the Aces, who played their third consecutive game and their fourth game in five nights. Fresno had rested all week.

The two teams meet again at Fresno in the Selland Arena Tuesday at 6:00 Alaska Daylight Time. It will be the Aces seventh game of their 10 game road trip.

Aces End Road Curse

Kent Baumbach stopped 35 of 38 shots and Yvan Corbin scored two goals to lead the Aces to their first win in 18 games over San Diego by a score of 5-3 in front of 6,030 fans at the San Diego Sports Arena Friday Night. The Aces are now 1-16-1 in San Diego in their history.

The win improves the Aces to 12-6-0 and brings them within one point of Colorado for second place in the North Division. The loss drops San Diego to 8-6-4, and they remain in second place in the North Division.

Kent Baumbach, the Aces back-up goaltender, who played after Sergei Tkachenko took himself out of the game in the second period yesterday, got the start tonight and sparkled and kept the Aces in it despite being outshot 38-25.

Paul Williams deflected Keith Street's shot to get the Aces on the board first at 3:21 of the first period. Mark Stitt scored and evened it up for San Diego at 4:27. However, the Aces regained their lead when Yvan Corbin scored his 10th of the year at 6:50.

The Aces extended their lead to two goals when Corbin scored his second of the night at 5:53 of the second period on the power play. Darren Perkins came right back though and scored on the power play to get San Diego within one going into the third period.

Early in the third period, Brad Belland scored to knot the score at 3. Then at 9:52, Kord Cernich scored his second goal of the year to put the Aces up 4-3. That proved to be all the Aces needed to win their first game ever in San Diego. Keith Street added an empty net power play goal with 25 seconds left to seal the win.

The Aces travel to Fresno to play the South Division leading Falcons for the first time this year Saturday at 6:00 Alaska time. That game will be the Aces third game in as many nights, their fourth game in five nights, and their sixth game in nine nights.

Gulls Hold Off Aces

The Anchorage Aces, despite coming back from 5 goals down to make it interesting, fell to the San Diego Gulls 8-6 Thursday Night in front of 4,688 fans at the San Diego Sports Arena. Anchorage was down 6-1 and 8-3 but they made it 8-6, but couldn't tie it up. The two teams face off again tomorrow night at 6:00 Alaska Time.

The loss snaps the Aces 5 game winning streak and drops them to 11-6-0, and they remain in third place in the North Division. The win improves San Diego to 8-5-4 and snaps their 5 game winless streak, the longest in team history. The Aces are now 0-16-1 against San Diego in the Sports Arena in their entire history.

The game started out slow, with only one goal in the first period. Sandy Gasseau gave San Diego the early lead at 11:32 assisted by Kyle Reeves on the power play.

Then San Diego opened it up in a big way. Martin St. Amour, Stephane St. Amour, and Mark Stitt all scored in the first 5:16 of the second period to give the Gulls a 4-0 lead. Keith Street finally got the Aces on the board with his eighth of the year at 5:34 from Williams and O'Rear. Reeves and Kyle MacPherson scored just after that to give San Diego a giant 6-1 lead. But Anchorage came back when Sean Rowe and Yvan Corbin scored 7 seconds apart to make it 6-3 in the Gulls favor. Reeves scored to make it 7-3 with 27 seconds in the period.

The Gulls made it 8-3 in the third period when Sandy Gasseau scored unassissted at 4:28. Dean Larson, Sean Rowe, and Yvan Corbin all scored within 7 minutes of eachother to make it 8-6 Gulls. And that's how it ended.

Tkachenko was pulled after the Gulls fourth goal in favor of Baumbach. It was the first time Baumbach got to play more then half a game.

Aces Acquire Soucy

Tucson Goalie Picked Up in Dispersal Draft

The Anchorage Aces, who had the fourth pick in the dispersal draft of the Tucson Gila Monsters, who ceased operations immediately today, picked up goaltender Christian Soucy, Tucson's starting goaltender.

Soucy, a 5 foot, 11 inch, 160 pound goaltender, is the sixth ranked goaltender in the West Coast Hockey League. He backstopped Tucson to a 6-7-2 record. His GAA is 3.72 to date, and his save percentage to date is .870.

He will likely back up Sergei Tkachenko, who was the WCHL Goaltender of the Month for November. Tkachenko is the league's number 1 ranked goalie, and has led the Aces to a 11-5-0 record. His GAA is 2.95 and his current save percentage is .900.

Likely to be cut is Aces back-up goaltender Kent Baumbach, who has yet to start a game with the Aces.

Rolling Aces Top Tucson

George Wilcox had 2 goals and an assist to help lead the Anchorage Aces to a 3-1 win over the Tucson Gila Monsters and Tuesday Night at the Tucson Convention Center. The win was the Aces league high fifth straight and their seventh win in their last 8 games. Aces goaltender and the West Coast Hockey League Goaltender of the Month of November Sergei Tkachenko continued his strong play, making 23 saves out of 24 shots.

The win improved the Aces to 11-5-0 and they moved into a tie with the Colorado Gold Kings for second place in the North Division. The loss drops Tucson to 7-11-3, and they remain in third place in the South Division.

Derek Gauthier put the Aces on the board with his fourth goal of the season assisted by George Wilcox and Keith Street at 9:57 on the power play.

The Aces extended their lead to two goals when Wilcox scored his fifth of the year on the power play from Street and Aces newcomer Matt Ruchty, a 6'2", 225 pound left winger on load from Grand Rapids of the IHL.

Wilcox added another at 5:58 assisted by Gauthier and Ruchty to add to the lead. But Tucson's Stu Kulak scored at 11:19 from Marcel Richard and Mike Taylor on their 10th power play of the game to end Sergei Tkachenko's shutout streak at 120 minutes and 2 seconds.

The Aces power play went 2 for 5, while Tucson's was held to 1 for 10. Tucson outshot the Aces 24-18.

The Aces head to sunny San Diego, California, to play the San Diego Gulls Thursday and Friday before heading to Fresno overnight to play the Falcons Saturday.

Aces Fly South To Tucson

Actually, they bus south.

After sweeping the two game series against the Phoenix Mustangs to improve their record against Phoenix this year to 4-0-0 and to 10-1-1 lifetime, the red hot Anchorage Aces (10-5-0) travel a couple hours south to take on the Tucson Gila Monsters (7-10-3). This is the second city and third game of their 19-day, 10-game road trip which will take them through all 5 teams in the South Division.

The Aces come in to Tucson with lots of positives. They have won 4 straight hockey games, including two against the Taylor Cup Chamion San Diego Gulls, and have won 6 of their last 7, in which 5 of those have been on the road.

However, the games against Tucson are rarely a walk in the park.

So far this season, the Aces and Gila Monsters have played two games against each other, both up in Anchorage. The Aces easily won the first contest by a score of 8-2, but the next night they got in penalty trouble and lost by a dissapointing score of 7-4, giving Tucson their first win in Alaska.

Last season, the Aces went 3-0-1 in Anchorage against Tucson, and split the 4 games in Tucson.

If the Aces continue their strong play, they should be able to beat Tucson without much trouble. It is very important they don't feel overconfident however, because that has came back to haunt them more then once this year, especially in the third period.

It is important the Aces win this game because after it the road trip gets much harder. They head to San Diego for a two game set Thursday and Friday, and immediately afterwards head to Fresno to take on the Falcons, who are first place in the South Division.

Aces Shutout Mustangs

Sergei Tkanchenko stopped all 27 shots he faced and Dean Larson had two goals and two assists to once again lead the Aces to a 6-0 win over Phoenix Saturday night in the Arizona Veterans Memorial Colosseum.

The win improves the red hot Anchorage Aces to 10-5-0 and moves them into a tie for second place in the North Division. The loss drops the Mustangs to 7-7-0 and they remain in fourth place in the South Division. It was the first shutout in the WCHL this year. The Aces have won 4 straight games and 6 of their last 7 games.

The first period was very close, with Phoenix outshooting Anchorage 8 to 7. However, Anchorage was the only team able to score as Paul Williams deflected Dean Trboyevich's shot at 8:35 to give him his 11th goal of the season.

The Aces opened it up in the second period, despite being outshot 12 to 7 and getting in penalty trouble. Sean Rowe, Shane Zimmer, and George Wilcox all scored goals to give the Aces a 4-0 lead.

Phoenix, who was frustrated at the inability to score on Tkanchenko, took many penalties and bench minors, and got in two fights. All these power plays allowed Dean Larson to score his 11th and 12th goals of the year, both on the power play late in the game. The Aces penalty killing was spectacular, stopping all 8 Phoenix power plays. The Aces outshot the Mustangs 10 to 7 in the final frame and were outshot 27 to 24 for the game.

The Aces head to Tucson Tuesday for a 5:30 game at the Tucson Convention Center.

Aces Corral Mustangs

Shane Zimmer scored his first two goals of the season, including the game winner, and Dean Larson had two goals and an assist to help the Aces continue their domination of Phoenix with 5-2 victory over the Mustangs Friday night in front of 2,698 fans at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Colosseum.

The win improves the Aces to 9-5-0 on the season, and they remain in third place in the North Division. The loss drops Phoenix to 7-6-2, and they drop to fourth place in the fourth division, as Tucson won and moved ahead of them.

The Mustangs got on the board first when Hugo Belanger and Darren Veitch set up Tom Menicci shorthanded at 5:49. But George Wilcox evened it up at 16:16 from Evgeny Kourlin and Dallas Ferguson to go into the second period tied at one. The Aces outshot Phoenix 11 to 9 for the period.

Shane Zimmer scored the only goal of the second period and his first goal of the year to give the Aces the lead at 4:43 assisted by Kord Cernich and Dean Larson. The Aces edged Phoenix in shots 8 to 6.

The Aces opened it up early in the third period when Zimmer scored his second of the night from Larson and Sean Rowe at 1:55. Evgeny Kourlin improved the Aces lead to 3 goals at 7:33 off the beautiful set up from Keith Street. Belanger got the Mustangs within two on the power play at 10:17 assisted by Darren Veitch and Menicci. But Dean Larson put the game away at 17:58 on the power play from Street and Paul Williams. The Aces outshot Phoenix 12 to 11 for the period and 31 to 26 for the game. Both teams went 1 for 6 on the power play.

The Aces now have a lifetime record of 9-1-1 against Phoenix.

The two teams meet again tomorrow at 5:00 Alaska time at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Colosseum.

Aces Kick Off Road Marathon In Phoenix

The Anchorage Aces kick of their 10 game, 19 day road trip in Phoenix, Arizona, where the Mustangs will host them for a two game set Friday and Saturday. Phoenix is 7-5-2 and third place in the South Division. The Aces are 8-5-0 and third place in the North Division. The Aces are coming off a 2 game sweep of the San Diego Gulls at home. These games will be the third and fourth meetings between these two teams this year.

The Aces have had tremendous success against the Mustangs in their history. This is the Mustang's second year in the WCHL. Last year the Aces went 5-2-1 against them, and their two losses came on the road near the end of the year when they were fighting the injury bug. This year the Aces are 2-0-0 against the Mustangs so far, with home wins by the score of 6-2 and 5-4 in a shootout.

However this Mustang team is definitely not to be overlooked. They finished second in the South division last year behind only the San Diego Gulls, and fourth overall in the league, directly behind the Aces. They have weapons such as Hugo Belanger, the runner-up to the Aces Keith Street in the scoring race last year with 119 points, just one behind Street. The Mustangs also have an All-WCHL second team member in goalie David Goverde. They definitley have weapons, but the Aces seem to match up with them very well.

It is important that the Aces do well in these games. They are currently 8-5-0, and while that isn't bad, they know they have blown a couple of games and should be better. The first place Tacoma Sabercats are just on fire with a record of 14-1-1 and if they lose even a few more it will make it tough to catch up. They would also like to start this gigantic 10 game road trip on the right foot. This 19 day road trip will take them through Phoenix, Tucson, San Diego, Fresno, Bakersfield, and then Fresno again.

Dean Trboyevich, who played with Grand Rapids of the IHL last year, went on a two week West Coast road trip and thought that was long.

"That was two weeks and it seemed like an eternity," Trboyevich told the Anchorage Daily News. "I look at these dates and I cringe."

At least the Aces have a 11 game home stand to look forward too at the completion of this trip.

Shootout Fortune Takes A Turn For Aces

With the Fresno Falcons shootout loss to Tacoma Tuesday, every team in the league now has a shootout loss.

That is, except for the Aces.

That's right. The Anchorage Aces, who last year went a big fat 0 for 8 in shootouts, and in their pro history have not had a winning record in the shootout for a season, are 2 for 2 in the extra frame this year, and the only team in the league who has not lost in one.

What have been the keys to the Aces turnaround? Is it just a change of luck? Is Sergei Tkanchenko doing better in goal? Is it confidence gained after finally winning the first one? Is it a combination of a number of things?

Most likely, it is just one thing, and one player.

Yvan Corbin. #9 in your program. When he came to the Aces this season, after playing in France for two years, he heard about the Aces shootout woes. He couldn't understand why the Aces were so anemic in shootouts, when they are such and offensive powerhouse.

Then, in the Aces first shootout of the year against Phoenix, he scored the game winning shootout goal.

And last Thursday's come from behind victory over San Diego, he once again scored the game winning shootout goal, in addition to two goals in regulation.

Whatever it is that is improving the Aces shootout success, here's to the Aces keeping it up on the road.

Aces Borrow Two From Griffins

The Anchorage Aces, who are preparing to head out to Phoenix to start a 10 game road trip, got some help Sunday. The Grand Rapids Griffins, an International Hockey League Team, loaned forwards Matt Ruchty and Sean Tallaire to the Aces.

The Internation Hockey League is considered one level of hockey above the West Coast Hockey League.

Matt Ruchty, a 6'1", 225 lbs. left wing, has played 13 games with the Griffins this year and has scored 1 goal and 0 assists for a total of 1 point. He is second in team penalty minutes with 59 minutes. His toughness will be helpful on this road trip.

Sean Tallaire, a 5'10", 196 lbs. right wing, has played 4 games so far with the Griffins and has no statistics. However, he has a history of being a sufficient scorer and should thrive at the WCHL level. That's probably why he was sent down, to get more ice time.

No word on how long they will be staying with Anchorage, or who they will replace in the lineup. It is likely that one of them will replace Bobby Cunningham, who is out 3-6 weeks.

And After the Seventh Game, They Rested

With the amazing shootout victory Thursday night, the Aces completed their seventh game in twelve days, including 5 games on the road. They went a very respectable 4-3 on this streak, including a two game sweep of the San Diego Gulls at home.

Now the Aces finally get a chance to breath. The Aces don't play another game until next Friday, November 27, giving them seven days to rest their tired bodies. And at least they are resting happy. The Aces came back from a 4-1 deficit, never led in the game, but tied it up and in the shootout Yvan Corbin, the fifth and final skater, just shot it underneath goaltender Patrick Couture's blockers for the Game Winner.

"I knew he was having trouble with his low blocker," Corbin told the Anchorage Daily News. "If I'm provided with that situation, I've got to score."

Corbin also scored two of the Aces five goals in regulation. He is now the hero of the shootout for the second time of the year, he also scored the shootout winner against Phoenix earlier this year.

After the lengthy break the Aces get, they head out on a hellacious ten game road trip, that will take them through Phoenix, Tucson, San Diego, Fresno, and Bakersfield. The next Aces home game is 4 weeks from today.

Currently, the Aces are tied for second place in the North Division with the Gold Kings, but the Gold Kings have played 3 more contests then the Aces. Tacoma is currently leading the division with a 10-1-1 mark.

In the South Division, Fresno is currently in first places with a 10-3 record. San Diego is second place with a 7-3-3 record.

Aces Stun Gulls, Win in Shootout

Gulls can't hold on to 3 goal lead

Sergei Tkanchenko stopped 4 out of 5 shots in the shootout and the Aces came back from a 3 goal deficit to defeat the Gulls 6-5 in a shootout in front of over 5,000 fans at the Sullivan Arena Thursday night. The win improves the Aces to 8-5-0 and moves them into a tie with Colorado for second place in the North Division. The loss drops San Diego to 7-3-3 and they remain in second place in the South Division.

The Aces got off to a anemic start, with Clark Polglase and Kyle Reeves both scoring for San Diego to give them an early 2-0 lead. The Aces were held scoreless in the period.

San Diego extended their lead to three early in the third period when former UAA Seawolf Mark Stitt scored at 3:35. The Aces finally got on the board when Keith Street scored unassisted at 5:35. However, San Diego got in right back less then 20 seconds later when Kyle Reeves scored his second of the night. Yvan Corbin got the game within two once again when he scored with 1:25 left to play.

The Aces came out on FIRE in the third period. Paul Williams scored on the power play at 1:32 to get the game within one. Then Corbin put the biscuit in the basket for his second of the night at 4:16, to tie the game. The Gull pulled ahead once again when Kyle Reeves completed his hat trick on the power play at 7:39. But Larson came through on the power play at 11:01 to tie it up once again. It remained tied at 5 at the end of regulation.

In the shootout, Sergei gave up a goal to the first San Diego shooter, BJ McPherson, but held them scoreless after that. Sean Rowe and Yvan Corbin scored for the Aces to lead them to their second shootout victory in as many chances.

The Aces head to Phoenix next weekend for a weekend set with the Mustangs.

Aces Roast Gulls, Win 4-2

Sean Rowe had two goals and an assist and Keith Street scored the game winner to lead the Aces to a 4-2 victory over San Diego in front of 4,860 fans at the Sullivan Arena Wednesday Night. The win improves the Aces to 7-5-0, and tied with Colorado for second place in the North Division. The loss drops the Gulls to 7-3-2 and they remain in second place in the South Division. These two teams meet again tomorrow at 7:00 at the Sullivan Arena.

San Diego came flying out of the gate however, and scored the first goal just 9 seconds into the game off an intercepted pass. It was Jason Courtemanche from B.J. MacPherson and Kyle Reeves. Later in the period Sean Rowe evened up the score assisted by Dean Larson and Keith Street. The Aces outshot San Diego 13 to 4 for the period.

While the second period was low scoring, the action certainly was exciting. The Aces once again dominated the period, outshooting San Diego by a 15 to 7 margin. However they only managed to put one goal on the board, and Sean Rowe was the one who got it. It was his second of the night.

San Diego got within one goal early in the third period when Serge Roy scored from Taj Melson at 2:50. The Gulls closed the shot gap, only getting outshot by a 14-12 margin, and really dominated the final 10 minutes. But Sergei Tkanchenko held strong in net and didn't allow a puck to go in. Yvan Corbin added an empty netter with 3 seconds left assisted by Dean Larson to seal the victory.

Gibson Taken Off IR

Jason Gibson, Aces right wing, defenseman, and enforcer, has been taken off the 21 day IR. He has played only 1 game so far this season. Newly aquired right wing Richard Peacock was placed on the 14 day IR, most likely because their was no room in the lineup for him.

Jason Gibson was a rookie with the Aces last season, and played 51 games. He scored 2 goals, 5 assists for a total of 7 points. He was a minus 6 rating. He had 270 penalty minutes, the second most PIM's of all the Aces last year, trailing only Chris Newans' 287 minutes in the sin bin. He had the fourth most major penalties in the league, with 18.

Gibson's toughness will be welcomed into the lineup for the games Wednesday and Thursday against the very physical San Diego Gulls. However, we won't see a very aticipated matchup of Gibson and Wagner because Chad Wagner is suspended for his actions in a game against Fresno Friday night.

Richard Peacock played one game with the Aces and scored 1 assist and 2 PIM's against Tacoma.

Gold Kings edge Aces

Chad Penney scored the Game Winning goal with 1:22 seconds left to play in the game to lift the Gold Kings over the Aces 2-1 in on Sunday in the World Arena in Colorado.  The win improves the Gold Kings to 7-7-2, and keeps them in second place in the North Division.  The loss drops the Aces to 6-5-0 and they remain in third place in the North Division.

The Aces scored the only goal of the first period, it was Dean Larson from Kevin Epp and Sean Rowe at 13:20. The Aces were outshot 11 to 7. The Gold Kings went 0 for 0 on the power play, while the Aces went 0 for 1.

The second period showed good defense and goaltending as the teams skated to a scoreless tie. Dean Larson did have a penalty shot, but McMullen made the save for Colorado. The Gold Kings outshot the Aces 10 to 4 for the period. Both teams went 0 for 4 on the power play.

Colorado evened the game up in the third period, it was Kevin McKinnon from Jeff Grabinski at 5:19.  Then Dean Larson went in on a 2 on 1 break, he was tripped up, and their was no call. Chad Penney picked up the puck, and skated towards the unguarded goal and scored easily unassisted at 18:38.  Aces Coach Walt Poddubny lost it and threw the gatorade barrel and all the sticks on the ice, and got tossed. The Aces went 0 for 1 on the power play for the period and 0 for 6 for the game. Colorado went 0 for 0 on the power play for the period, and 0 for 4 for the game. The Aces outshot Colorado 16 to 11 for the period, but Colorado held the overall shot advantage 32 to 27.

The Aces head home for a two game set Wednesday and Thursday vs. the San Diego Gulls. Get your tickets now as these games always sell out against the Gulls.

Aces Show an Offensive Surge; Defeat Colorado 6-4

Led by Paul Williams and Evgeny Kourlin, who both scored 2 goals, the Aces defeated the Colorado Gold Kings 6-4 in front of about 3,000 fans at the Colorado World Arena.  The win improves the Aces to 6-4-0, good for 12 points, and moves them within 2 points of Colorado who dropped to 6-7-2, good for 14 points.  That was Colorado's third straight loss and the Aces second straight win.   The Aces dominated play, outshooting Colorado 44 to 21.  

The Aces completely dominated play in the first period, bombarding Colorado's goalie Reverman with 18 shots.  Bobby Cunningham scored first, at 13:04 assisted by Derek Gauthier and George Wilcox.  Paul Williams put the Aces up by two goals at 15:33, assisted by Keith Street and Kord Cernich on the power play.  The Aces final first period goal was scored by Derek Gauthier, assisted by Cunningham and Wilcox at 19:20.  

In the second period, Colorado got back within two of the Aces with Brad Toporowski scoring at 1:14 assisted by Enga and Penney on the power play.   The Aces rookie russian Evgeny Kourlin scored his first goal of the season at 6:36 assisted by Dallas Ferguson.  Penney got within two one more time at 7:42 of the period assisted by Enga at 7:42.  Williams restored the Aces three goal lead with his second of the night and his ninth of the year at 8:49, assisted by Yvan Corbin.  

Craig Lyons scored the first third period goal from Enga and Toporowski at 4:34.  Kourlin then scored his second of the year and the night for the Aces at 5:01 assisted by Paul Williams.  Perry scored with just 25 seconds left in the game for Colorado assisted by Penney, to make the final 6-4. 

The two teams meet again tomorrow for a matinee at 12:00 noon Alaska Time.  

Aces Defeat Steelheads 3-2

Aces finally get their first road win of the season

Led by Paul Williams 2 goals and Keith Street's 2 assists, the Aces defeated the Idaho Steelheads in front of 5,044 fans at the Bank of America Centre in Boise Idaho 3-2.  The win improves the Aces to 5-4-0 and moves them within 1 point of Idaho for third place in the Northern Division.  The loss drops Idaho to 5-5-1 and they remain in third place in the Northern Division.

Paul Williams scored the first goal of the game at 19:09 of the first period assisted by Keith Street and Dean Larson on the power play.  The Aces outshot Idaho 17 to 13 and went 1 for 2 on the power play.  Idaho went 0 for 3 on the power play.  

The only goal of the second period was scored by Cal Ingraham assisted by Genest and Dumas to even up the score.  The Aces went 0 for 2 on the power play for the period, while Idaho went 0 for 1.  The Aces outshot Idaho 9-8  

The game opened up a little early in the third with Yvan Corbin scoring at 1:28 assisted by Dean Larson.  Cal Ingraham scored his second of the night and 3:57 to even it up once again, assisted by Genest.  Then Paul Williams scored his second of the night and the Game winner assisted by Street and Wilcox to put the game away at 6:13 on the power play.  The Aces went 1 for 2 on the power play for the period and 2 for 6 on the game.  Idaho went 0 for 4 on the game.  

The Aces travel to Colorado to take on the GoldKings Friday at 5:00 Alaska Time.

Three Star Selection

Star #1 - Paul Williams, Anchorage - Scores his sixth and seventh goal of the season, including the game winner.

Star #2 - Cal Ingraham, Idaho - Scored both of Idaho's goals, continues to be Idaho's leading scorer. Fantasic player.

Star #3 - Sergei Tkanchenko, Anchorage - Stopped all but two shots in another stellar performance.

.500 Hockey?

I don't know about you guys but at the beginning of the season I looked at the opening month schedule and thought the Aces had a serious chances of going 6-0, worst case scenario 5-1. By no stretch of the imagination did I imagine the Aces would be 4-4 and at the division cellar at this point.

I mean, look at the schedule. We opened against the expansion Colorado Gold Kings. We split with them. I am not too upset with the split except for the fact the Aces blew the one game with a 2 goal lead going into the third period.

Then the Aces hosted Tucson. We handled them easily in the first game, winning 8-2. In the second game, two key factors lost the game for the Aces. Discipline and refereeing. The reffing was bad, but they didn't lose because of the Jorgenson, they let Jorg get to them and then took stupid unsportsmanlike conduct penalites and 10 minute misconducts.

Then the Aces played the hockey we know they can, hosting a two game set against the Phoenix Mustangs and handling them very well, winning both games. They played their best hockey of the year and deserved the two wins against Phoenix. So they ended up going 4-2 on the home stand, and they only lost 6 home games all of last year. They could have won every single game, but that's ok. 4-2 is respectable.

Then the Aces traveled to Idaho Wednesday to take on the Steelheads. They had a 2-1 lead going into the third period but gave up their second third period lead of the year to an Idaho team that played hard and wanted to win the game more then the Aces. The loss dropped them to 4-3.

Then the Aces traveled to play the red hot Tacoma Sabercats, and everything fell apart. They lost all discipline and coach Poddubny got kicked out at the end of the second period. They gave Tacoma exactly what they wanted, an angry, chippy team, and gave them power play chances. They got spanked 5-1.

So the power house Aces, with great offense, defense, depth and goaltending, are 4-4. What are the reasons? Overconfidence? Lack of Discipline? Those are the two keys I think. They were getting cocky thinking they were to good to blow their lead, and then paid for it. And discipline, well, remains a problem that needs to be fixed if the Aces are going to bring a Cup to Anchorage. A win against Idaho Wednesday is just what the doctor ordered.

Sabercats Crush Aces

Led by Dampy Brar's two goals, the Tacoma Sabercats scored 4 unanswered 2nd period goals to defeat the Aces 5-1 in the acoma Dome Saturday night. The Win improves the Sabercats to 7-0-1, good for first place in the North Division, while the loss drops the Aces to 4-4, and last place in the North Division.

Derek Gauthier scored first just 42 seconds into the game to give the Aces the early 1-0 advantage. That was all the scoring in the first period, which was well played by both teams.

Just as quickly as the Aces scored in the first period, Tacoma scored in the second. Just 57 seconds into the second period, Dampy Brar scored and set the tone for the whole period. Brar would score again, as would Scott Drevitch and Alexei Podalinski to give the Cats a 4-1 lead. Long time Ace Chad Richard also got in a fight with the Aces Wade Brookbank, they fought well and both landed good punches. There was no clear winner.

The third period was much like the first, well played by both teams. Tacoma scored the only goal, it was Scott Drevitch's second of the night. Near the end of the game Keith Street fought Alexei Podalinski. He won convincingly. The loss keeps the Aces in last in the Northern Division, they need to step it up or they'll be left in the dust.

Three Star Selection

#1 Star - Dampy Brar, Tacoma - Tacoma's third leading scorer last year turned in another great performance scoring two goals against the Aces including the game tying goal and game winning goal.

#2 Star - Scott Drevitch, Tacoma - Also turned in two goals for Tacoma, a steady performer.

#3 Star - Blair Allison, Tacoma - Tacoma's goalie allowed just one goal, even though he didn't face many shots from the Aces. A great performance from all the Cats.

Steelheads Stymie Aces

Led by Cal Ingraham's Game Winning Goal and 2 point night, the Steelheads came back from a 1 goal third period defecit to defeat the Aces 3-2. The win improves the Steelheads to 5-3-1 and third place in the Northern Division. The loss drops the Aces to 4-3-0 and they remain in the cellar in the Northern Division, though they have games at hand over all Northern Division Teams.

Idaho opened the scoring in the game early,with Troy Edwards scoring at 2:45 assisted by Cal Ingraham at even strength. The Aces got that goal right back as Bobby Cunningham put one in on a breakaway set up by Street and Cernich at 6:49 on the Power Play. The Aces were outshot that period 11-9, and went 1 for 2 on the Power Play, while Idaho went 0 for 1.

The Aces scored the only goal in the second period, Dean Larson ripped one top shelf assisted by Sean Rowe at 16:45. Both teams went 0 for 3 on the Power Play and the Aces outshot Idaho by a margin of 17-6. Paul Krake, the Idaho goaltender and former UAA Seawolf, was absolutely on fire.

The Aces couldn't hold onto the lead in the third period. Idaho defenseman Mark Genest, picked off the puck at the Aces own blue line and took it in for the goal past Sergei Tkanchenko at 5:05 unassisted. Then at 11:08, Cal Ingraham put in the Game Winner assisted by "Little" Billy McGuigan at 11:08. The Aces had no third period Power Play chances and finished 1 for 5, while Idaho had 2 chances and finished 0 for 6.

Three Star Selection

#1 Star - Paul Krake, Idaho - Played Spectacular allowing only 2 Aces goals and stopped 34 of 36 Aces shots to keep Idaho in the game, despite being dominated offensively.

#2 Star - Cal Ingraham, Idaho - Scored an assist and the game winning goal to lead Idaho to their third straight victory.

#3 Star - Sergei Tkanchenko, Anchorage - Despite the losing effort, made many great saves and allowed only 3 goals in a very impressive performance.

Team Leaders

Do you know the players that are leading the Aces in major statistical categories this year? Sure, we are only 6 games into the season, but it is not too early to see trends developing. So read on! If you read carefully, you can sense developing trends. This is what I have attempted to do in this article.

Dean Larson is leading the team in goals. He has 6 goals in 6 games, not bad at all. Keith Street and Paul Williams trail Dean Larson by only 1 goal. And don't be surprised if these three are at the top all season, they are proven Aces goal scorers. Watch for Sean Rowe and Yvan Corbin to make a move though, they each have 3 goals, but have the talent to be at the top of the league.

Keith Street is leading the team in assists with 10. No surprise. He'll stay on top all season, not just on the team, but in the league. Sean Rowe is right on his tail with 9, and Larson is right there with 8 helpers. Expect Rowe's assist total to drop behind Larson and Street's as his roll changes to more of a goal scorer.

Keith Street is also on top of the team in overall points, with 15 of them. He will also lead ther all year, as he is the WCHL defending scoring champion. Larson, Rowe, Williams, and Cunningham will be right there though, just not at the same level as Street.

Some other statistical leaders, Wade Brookbank is leading the team with 66 Penalty minutes, expect him to remain on the throne. Paul Williams is leading the team and the league in shooting percentage, with an amazing 38.5%. Expect that number to drop, but he will once again set a team and league record for his shooting percentage. And Street leads the team and league in +/- with a +9, he will also probably stay on top.

By looking at the stats, you can learn who is going to produce early in the season. Street, Larson, and Williams appear to be key names once again. Expect Rowe, Corbin, and Cunningham to all put up great numbers this year too.

Aces Leave Home for 5 Game Road Stand

The Aces, after opening the season with their first 6 games at home, head on the road for their next 5 games. The Road hasn't been nearly as kind to the Aces in past years, last year the Aces went 14-14-4 on the road while going 20-6-4 at home.

First they travel to Idaho to battle the Steelheads on Friday, November 6th. Then, on Saturday, they head up to Tacoma to face their Northern Division rivals the Sabercats, who are red hot at 6-0-1. Then they go back to Idaho on Wednesday, the 11th, to battle the Steelheads once again. To finish off the road stand, they travel to Colorado to face the Gold Kings for a two game set, Saturday and Sunday the 14th and 15th.

Keith Street Named WCHL Player of the Month

Aces Center Keith Street, the last of the original Aces, was named the WCHL Player of the Month for October. Street compiled 5 goals and 10 assists in 6 games during the season's opening month. He is second in the league in points behind Tucson center Mike Taylor, who has played 8 games and has tallied 4 goals and 13 assists for 17 points. Street also leads the league with a +9 rating. Aces Goaltender Sergei Tkanchenko was a runner up for Goaltender of the Month behind San Diego's Steve Vezina.